This Everyday Love
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: The couples of the true love armada and more enjoy their favorite parts of their everyday routines.*story's better than summary. Based on the Rascal Flatts song of the same title. Pairings include Henry/Grace and Red Cricket*


Rumplestiltskin groaned softly, turning away from the sunlight shining through his bedroom window as he blinked away his bleariness. As his vision cleared, he couldn't help the content smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth as his gaze landed on Belle. Sunlight kissed her peaceful features while she slept, and he couldn't help but press a gentle kiss of his own against her forehead.

Her eyelids fluttered open and a sleepy smile of her own brightened the room as he brushed a lock of her dark hair out of her face.

"Good morning, my beautiful Belle," he murmured, pressing soft kiss to her lips.

"Mm," she mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Later than we normally wake up," he admitted, knowing that he needed to get his morning started and hating the idea of leaving this moment – this everyday moment that he loved so much.

Belle voiced his thoughts when she said, sounding as equally regretful as he felt, "Then we need to get up so that you're not late to the shop."

He groaned pitifully even while nodding his agreement and gave her one more quick kiss before untangling himself from the sheets and shuffling into the kitchen for a cup of coffee to jumpstart the day.

* * *

Sitting at the table in his family's apartment, David shook the newspaper, flattening it out in front of him on the table so he could read it while he ate his cereal before heading into work. It was the one calm moment of his morning before absolute chaos exploded.

And there it was now – Emma and Henry tumbling down the stairs, the latter with a backpack already slung over his shoulder while the former was shrugging into one of her many leather jackets.

"Morning, Dad," Emma said absently, dropping a kiss onto David's cheek as she moved behind the bar and asked Henry, "Cereal or toast?"

"We're low on bread I'm afraid," Mary Margaret declared, shoving aside the curtain that separated hers and David's bed from the rest of the room.

"Cereal it is!" Emma decided, putting a box of rice krispies in front of her son.

"I can pick bread up on the way home from work," David volunteered casually.

"Thanks, Charming," Mary Margaret replied, a smile in her voice as she came up behind him and threw her arms around his neck – just one more everyday piece of the morning chaos that he'd come to expect and love.

* * *

Nobody really _commented _on the fact that Archie Hopper had coffee at Granny's Diner every morning, but they all knew why he did it – and it certainly wasn't because he favored Granny's black sludge over some homemade brew.

Coming in for coffee… it really was a downright ordinary thing to do. But he came in for the moments that, although they happened every day, still managed to seem completely _unordinary _to him. He came in to see Ruby – her quick wit, her even quicker smile, and the sparkle that never quite left her eyes no matter how early or late he arrived. He came for the conversation they would make in the nearly empty diner as she moved around behind the counter, making the staples for the day as he sat at the bar and watched her work.

He came for that one familiar, habitual moment that they both loved. Right after he finished his coffee, right before he left, Ruby would stop whatever she was doing and come over to him, scooping up his empty mug and giving him a kiss on the cheek before she asked with a bright smile, "Same time, same place tomorrow morning?"

He'd blush a little, answering honestly, "Every day."

* * *

Henry had grown up with routines – literally living the same day over for the first ten years of his life – and even now he found a measure of comfort in them. He liked the way that he knew exactly what to expect to see as he left his grandparents' apartment and walked to the bus stop. He liked that he would cross paths with Belle on the way to her library every morning and they would wave at each other as they went. He liked that Archie would call out a greeting to him as he walked out of Granny's after his morning coffee.

He liked the way that the Mad Hatter's daughter, Grace, always caught up with him a few yards after he'd passed the diner with a cheerful word and a shy smile on her tongue as they finished the trek to the bus stop together.

These interactions were all normal pieces of his favorite part of his daily routine… and, as of late, so was the heat that crept into his cheeks and ears at Grace's appearance, the funny flip in his stomach, and the jitteriness of his thoughts when she was around.

But there wasn't anything peculiar about that, either, was there?

* * *

Emma grinned when she saw the caller ID on her cell phone later that afternoon, moving to answer the call.

"Is that Killian again?" her dad asked, eyeing her from his own desk.

"Isn't it every afternoon?"

It was; he always brought Emma lunch every afternoon and he always called to ask her what she wanted him to get, though he'd long figured out what the answer would be. Grilled cheese sandwich and onion rings, always, but Emma found it adorable that he still called. It wasn't about getting her order anymore; it was about not being able to wait to get into contact with her – _with her_! She loved it, and she loved Killian for it.

"My thoughts exactly," David answered her with a teasing roll of his eyes.

"You like my boyfriend and you know it," Emma shot back at him, sticking her tongue out at her father before she took Killian's call, a smile already sliding onto her face as she answered, "Hey, handsome," and leaned back in her chair, getting comfortable as she listened to the voice that warmed her heart just like she did every other day.

"What would you like me to get you for lunch?" he asked predictably.

"Grilled cheese and onion rings; thanks."

"Always," he replied cheerfully. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Emma's grin widened as she repeated, "Always."

* * *

Regina's eyes snapped up to the clock for the tenth time in as many minutes and finally she saw the time that she had been waiting for. She'd been absolutely _dragging _herself through the last few hours at the office, but it was at last time for her to start closing up shop and heading home for the day. Having Robin and Roland there for her when she arrived home at the end of her workday had become commonplace, but tonight Henry was going to be there, too, and she couldn't wait.

So she worked quicker than usual, trying to get home in time to beat the dark. If she got there while the sun was still up, Robin had promised her a backyard picnic with the boys would be waiting for her, and that wasn't something that she was willing to miss.

And she managed not to. She pulled in the driveway of her mansion as Henry, Robin, and Roland all came around the house from the backyard, all of them already smiling and happy to see her. She climbed out of the car and the vehicle's door wasn't even closed before Roland had raced forward and wrapped his arms around her legs, happily calling out her name.

She hefted him into her arms, and Henry was next, squeezing her shoulders as he declared, "Robin and I already have everything ready around back."

"I'm sure you do, my wonderful men," she answered with a smile, her hard day forgotten as she soaked in the wonderful feeling of being with her family.

And then there was Robin, standing in front of her and pulling her in for a kiss, sandwiching Roland in between their bodies in the process.

"Ew!" The young boy protested and Regina couldn't help but laugh, marveling at the way the very presence of her boys soothed her – at the way that these three people chose to stood by her and that it would be that way tomorrow, just like every day before.


End file.
